Democrat swings by to announce candidacy

DENNY SIMMONS / Courier & Press
Democratic candidate for Indiana governor Jill Long Thompson, second right, visits with old friends, from left, Edna Fischer, Robert Fischer and Karen Whitehead before speaking Wednesday afternoon at the Four Freedoms Monument in Evansville.

It's too early to tell if she'll earn their support, but Evansville Democrats said they were eager to hear more from gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson as she travels the state to introduce herself and build name recognition.

The former U.S. House member visited Evansville as a part of a statewide swing to announce her candidacy for the 2008 governor's race. Several supporters lined behind her holding "Jill 2008" posters as she stumped at the Four Freedoms Monument.

Before her arrival, her anti-privatization message was the hot topic among the dozen people in attendance.

"She's questioning stuff that Mitch (Daniels) has done, and I've never heard anything out of (Jim) Schellinger," said Bill Bennett, a local precinct committeeman. Schellinger is an Indianapolis architect who has lined up big donors and establishment support for the Democratic nomination.

"I don't know a lot about her," said Mary Bennett of Evansville. "She seems very knowledgeable about the affairs of the state."

Long Thompson was a three-term House member, and also served as undersecretary of agriculture in the Clinton administration. But she's largely remained out of the public eye since losing her House seat representing northeastern Indiana to Republican Rep. Mark Souder in 1994. Her campaign hopes to build her name recognition in the southern part of the state.

"The campaign just started; there's not a lot to say about her chances," said former state Sen. Paul Bitz, D-Evansville, in response to a question about whether Long Thompson could compete with Schellinger, who already reports raising more than $1 million for the race.

The third Democratic candidate, Senate Minority Leader Richard Young of Milltown, reports raising between $60,000 and $70,000.

Long Thompson began fundraising for the race last week and will not report any donations from the first half of the year.

She wouldn't say exactly how much she's raised thus far, but did say she's pleasantly surprised by how well her fundraising has gone.

Many political observers have said $20 million will be required to win the general election, and Long Thompson also pinpointed that number.

"I think (the Democrats) have a good chance this time, with a whole lot of people upset about privatization," said State Rep. Phil Hoy, D-Evansville.

Hoy specifically cited the privatization of state services such as Bureau of Motor Vehicles and some Family and Social Services Administration operations, and said doing so was a mistake.

That was Long Thompson's message Wednesday. She said she'd even consider trying to get out of leasing a Northern Indiana toll road to a foreign consortium.

But the Interstate 69 extension from Crane Naval Warfare Center to Indianapolis will still be built, she said, saying she'd use her ties to Congress to try to gain national funding for the project.

Vanderburgh County Republican Chairman Nick Hermann, who was at Long Thompson's event, said it sounded like she wanted to "regress back to the days where we had budget deficits."

"She talked about investing in the future, and I feel like that's what we've done," Hermann said. "We've taken I-69 from an idea to actually moving dirt next year."

Long Thompson said she would repeal the gas tax — something Gov. Daniels has resisted doing, citing a letter from the attorney general which challenged the governor's authority to do so.

Repealing the state's gas tax plus re-evaluating the Major Moves legislation that funds I-69 as well as other road projects around the state would put the state in a financial hole, Hermann said.

"If you do both of those things, you're looking at no road improvements and we're back in that rut we were in," he said.

Long Thompson was to meet with Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel after her public appearance Wednesday afternoon. Spokesman Chris Sautter promised more visits to Southwestern Indiana, saying the campaign would focus on issues facing the area.